Sometimes I Write

I’ve been fascinated with the Titanic story since I was about 12 years old. I’m not sure why. Even if I tried, I don’t think I could narrow it down to just one reason. Lost love. Lost treasures. Man’s ego. Stories of heroism and acts of selflessness. The harshness of the class system. Luck. Famous people. All of these things have fed my imagination as I read everything I could get my hands on about this tragedy.

When James Cameron made his movie and took Titanic down into history again (as the highest grossing film ever) I watched it five times on the big screen. That is also when I fell in love with Kate Winslet. Not in a lesbian way, but in a “Wow! She’s beautiful, talented, has an accent, and I want to watch every film she’s ever made” sort of way.

I loved the movie, but there were several things that didn’t sit well with me. First was the naked drawing. It would have been a great film without her being naked. He could have drawn her body with clothes on and it would have been just as beautiful. No need to arouse people everywhere with pictures of breasts. Second was the sex in the Model T. I believe sex belongs in marriage, not lustily participated in with a relative stranger on a cruise ship. Third was the way history was twisted to fit our modern day dialogue and actions. Kate’s character Rose flips off a man, slaps a man, and spits in the face of her now ex-fiancee. As far as I can tell from reading, refined women didn’t behave that way back then. It was improper. Then again, Molly Brown was on that ship and she had quite a reputation, so I guess it is possible. Lastly, according to records, there were few men who took up seats on the life boats when the ship began to sink. The movie made it look like many men were doing everything they could to get on those life boats including dressing as women and holding people at gun point. I could have done without the cussing as well…especially the “F” word. So yes, I had my issues with the movie. I also loved it.

I loved that Rose was rescued from a life that would have suffocated her; A life arranged by her selfish mother. I loved that they wove Jack and Rose in and out of the stories of the famous people on board and that Rose was a connecting point with the past. I loved the phasing shots of the real Titanic on the bottom of the ocean blended into the movie Titanic in all it’s beauty and glory. I loved the historical facts they got right. I loved the soundtrack! Music makes or breaks a movie, and the soundtrack was brilliant. Way to go James Horner. I loved “The heart of the ocean” necklace. I loved the Irish band that played at the 3rd class party. I loved the costumes and the sets. I loved the witty dialogue. I loved the older Rose and how she had “lived” as captured in photographs that she had insisted on taking with her when she travelled. I loved the movie, despite it’s flaws.

For you movie buffs out there, Wikipedia said: “It holds the record for the highest-grossing film of all time, generating over US$1.8 billion worldwide. It spent 15 weekends atop the weekend box office, making it second only to E.T. (16 weekends) as the movie with the most weekends at that position. In 1998 it was nominated for fourteen Academy Awards and won eleven, including the title of 1997’s Best Picture (the second Paramount/Fox co-production with that honor in 3 years after 1995’s Braveheart). Titanic shares the record for the most Academy Award wins with Ben-Hur (1959) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Along with 1950’s All About Eve (another 20th Century Fox film), Titanic also holds the record for most Academy Award nominations.

For you History buffs out there: The Denver Museum of Nature & Science will be hosting Titanic: The Artifact Expedition this summer. It opens June 22nd while I’m at Zenith. I’ll definitely be attending the exhibit when I get home from camp. I’m excited to see up close what I’ve only seen in books and on t.v. In the meantime, I’m going to the library to borrow the movie and watch it again. My fascination continues…